Belgium poised to be first in EU to ban the burqa

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With Belgium on course to become the first EU country to ban the burqa, the Muslim tradition of covering women’s faces seems destined to end up in a European court battle pitting individual rights against society’s values.

MPs on Belgium’s home affairs committee have unanimously approved a ban on garments concealing the whole face or making it unrecognisable, setting up a vote in Parliament on April 22 that seems certain to pass given the cross-party consensus.

This would prohibit the full body burqa or face-covering niqab being worn in streets, public gardens, sports grounds and buildings “meant for public use